Myths/Controlled
Controlled ''Prologue Here I am, standing where I once lived. I was controlled by something far beyond my reach. It was perhaps, hard for me to even think about anything. We were part of the Controlled, and it was not pleasant. Perhaps I should have listened to my peers when they said that the Controllers would come and get us. If you do not know what I have become, I can tell you. We became tigers. Fierce cats that only lived to terrify the other cats that lived near us. My name was Echo. Pretty as I was, the Controllers found out that I was disobeying the rules. They found me, and they took me. I had no choice. My friends say that I could have done a better job helping myself, and I wouldn't be in this mess. It's too late now. I should have listened to everyone back when I was a kitten. ---- "Echo! Let's go play." Lily persisted. "Please?" I sighed. "Fine, let's go." Lily smiled as we bounded along the fields and tussled in the riverbanks. "I love how you're pelt is always shiny." She murmured. I didn't say anything, and she looked at me pointedly. "Echo, don't disobey the rule!" I sighed and muttered. "You look nice too." Lily sighed and nudged me. "You know how the Controllers hate it when someone is selfish and they don't compliment others. They'll come and grab you, and we'll never see you again." I bared my teeth. "Then let them come!" Lily cringed and covered her head. "StarClan take mercy on Echo! She has the evil inside of her. Rid her of this evil and let her live a normal life with me in the Roaring Sunrise Tribe." She bowed her head and I smacked her and glared at her. "Why do you even bother praying to the stars? Don't tell me there are cats out there." I flicked my tail. "You're all being silly." "Don't say that!" I blinked my emerald green eyes. "Are you kidding me? Why would I beg to the stars when there's no one there? I rely on myself for survival, mind you." "The Tribe takes care of you! Don't be so rude." Lily scolded me. She was a goody two paws, and she obeys every rule the Controllers sets up. I didn't even believe that they were such cats called Controllers. Snorting, I looked away. "And that's why three kits have to die every moon." Lily had her mouth open, but I continued. "If the Tribe cared for us, then half of our members wouldn't be lying in the bottom of a hole right now!" "They're being imprisoned because they were disobeying the rules." Lily corrected. "And the others that never return?" I challenged. Lily shrugged. "They did major things that violated the Controller's rules. They were... I don't know what happened to them." I nodded vigorously. "Exactly, so what has the Tribe done for us? Half of our members are being 'punished', and the other third of them are killed or something. I don't get why we have to live in such a foul place!" My eyes were fierce and defiant. Lily shoved me into the river. "Please rinse your sins there, Echo. Let's change the subject, the more we talk about this, the more you ruin yourself." She looked at me pleadingly. Shrugging, I padded towards the fields, shaking water droplets from my pelt. "I won't ever stop insulting them." I mewed, not bothering to turn around, "They haven't done anything to help me so far." My friend looked desperate. "Come on, let's go to the Main and get you some herbs and treatment. Maybe StarClan will forgive you for your rude comments." "You sound like my mother." I snapped, pulling away. "I will ''not go and pray to the stars that they would forgive me. They can hate me all they want." I spat. Lily gave up. "Do what you wish, Echo, but remember it could cost you a lot." ''Chapter One Sitting up in my nest, I stared at the horizon. "Lily?" But my friend had left me. ''Of course, she fears that I would infect her with my sins. I thought bitterly. I would have to apologize to her. My mother, Stormcloud, came in. "Firefly gave you some medicine to help you calm that raging heart of yours. You are just like your father..." "You was my father?" I mewed. Stormcloud shook her head. "You mustn't ask who he is. He will haunt your future, and it doesn't look so good already. I fear the Controllers have already heard of your sins." I laughed and shrugged. "They can hear all they want, they can control us all they want, but I'll never stop." "He was just like you, but it cost him a lot." "What was his name?" I persisted. Stormcloud smacked me back. "Do not ask for anything about him. For if you know one little thing about him now, you will certainly be captured and... controlled." Biting my lip, I turned away. "Fine, I'll go look for information myself." Stormcloud cried out. "No! Don't you dare, Echo. You are already in enough trouble. I am receiving warnings to keep you down. I fear that if I do not, we will both be punished." That made me freeze. "Why would they punish you?" "Because I had you. I brought you into the world. If I cannot make you stable and part of them, they will have both of us by tonight." She looked at me pleadingly. "Please, Echo, do not get yourself into trouble. In fact, Firefly told me to confine you to this den for tonight." Sighing, I curled up, trying to comfort myself. I had to try to believe, but it was impossible. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on shutting my thoughts out. We were the Roaring Sunrise, and we had to be pure and selfless like the sunrise, giving ourselves up to the Controllers. My concentration broke away when a wave of icy water hit me mentally. I shrieked and flailed back. "Echo!" My mother grabbed my and dug her claws in. "This is your first punishment." She snarled in a Controllers' voice. "If you continue to violate our laws, action will be taken against you. Beware, Echo of the Roaring Sunrise." My mother let go of me, and I nearly fainted as I fell backwards. "Stormcloud?" She shuddered and crumpled to the ground. Lily stuck her head in and gasped. "What have you done now, Echo?" Her gaze was accusing, unlike Lily at all. She was usually bubbly and peaceful, a perfect Controller candidate. Now she was glaring at me. "I didn't do anything." I gulped. "I was confined here, and then some kind of icy wave hit me, and I let out a cry. My mother grabbed me and sunk her claws in. Then she just fainted there." I winced as my wounds spat out more blood. Lily breathed in hard. "I'll bring her to Firefly. You stay here and just meditate. Don't even try to be rebellious." Her gaze was stern. We were only seven moons old, she didn't have to act like I was a kitten. Oops. I stopped thinking about that and tried to concentrate on the water and soothed my heart. My friend dragged Stormcloud out, and I stared after them worriedly. What if I had caused her death? I had heard of many people dying because their child was too rebellious. Worry filled my heart. I cursed myself for being so foolish. Sighing, I gave in to sleep, but my dreams were filled with haunting nightmares about my mother dying, my friends killed in a hurricane caused by my sins. The next morning, Firefly shoved me out of the den. "Your mother will be alright, but you must go and stand in the River of Sins for the rest of today." Gulping, I stumbled out to the River, where several guards watched me closely. It was about sunset, but there was still a good chunk of the day left. "Can I at least get a quick meal?" "You can eat after your punishment is over." Firefly mewed, her eyes boring into mine. I felt as though the Controllers were staring at me, not Firefly. Sullenly stepping into the river, I felt the icy water rush over my paws and tumbled onwards. The first guard shoved me over. "You must submerge completely before starting your punishment." I recognized Sunny, but her voice was full of anger and hatred. "Do it now, before we hold you down." She snapped. Controllers. It had to be them. Only them would have such a raspy voice, anger and hatred filling it up to the brim. Sunny wasn't like this, but the Controllers were probably using my friends and family to keep an eye on me. Dipping my body under the surface, I felt the water tug at me. Gritting my teeth, I struggled against it, trying not to sink and let the water carry me away. Sunny sunk her claws into my back and dragged me up. "You are not allowed to die. The Leader wishes to see if you can succeed." I grunted in pain as blood came out of my new wound. "I'll obey, tell him that." I muttered. "It's a bit too late for him to forgive you." Sunny hissed. "You must come before him and receive your punishment. He will decided whether or not you shall be killed." The other guard, Drift, snarled. "You would be lucky to receive a quest." Swallowing, I shuffled into the River, feeling the numbness spread across my paws. Hissing in pain, I snarled back at them. "You'll see, I'll survive whatever he throws at me." ---- "You are an ignorant she-cat, Echo." The Leader glared at me. I gulped as I realized that he was Lightning, my old friend. "I know I am." I snapped back. "But I wish to change." "Ha!" The Leader laughed. "Change? With this attitude? You'll never go far with an attitude like this." He stared at me cruelly. Biting back a snarl, I closed my eyes. "Allow me to change my heart." He waited, and I closed my eyes, shutting out my thoughts and closed my heart. "Now what shall I do?" I felt no emotion as I stared blankly back at him. "Wonderful... You are a shifter. A well controlled one too. If only we can change you completely so that we can ensure that you are not a rebel." ''Chapter Two My paws were shaking when the Leader mewed. "You are to go to the River and retrieve the Mystical Stone. If I don't have it by next moon, your mother and your whole Tribe dies, and we will find you." I was still shaking even after I nodded and padded out, trying to keep my pawsteps steady and firm. "As you wish." "Lily will escort you and help you on your quest." My friend padded stiffly out, her eyes wild and fearful. I thanked the stars that she was alright. Then I caught myself. I had ''thanked the stars. Lily ushered me out, probably praying that I wouldn't burst out. I stumbled out and padded away, trying to keep my eyes forward. Lily sighed in relief when we were safely out of the Leader's sight. "He's got Lightning under his control, my own brother!" I hugged Lily and quieted her down. "We can do this. I'm just glad you weren't changed yet." Lily shuddered. "He said he wouldn't do it because he needed me to control you." "How would you control me if he doesn't have control over you?" Lily paled. "I've said too much, let's hurry." I nodded and hurried after her. We reached the River in no time, but Lily stopped me from walking in. "This can't be the river he wants us to look for. Why would a Mystical Stone be hiding in the River of Sins?" It was a good question, and I didn't have an answer to it. "Let's try the River of the Sunrise." "That's so far away." Lily gasped. "You'll never make it back in time!" I stared at her dully, trying to register the fact that she was trying to stop me. "That's where you come in." I mewed grimly. "You must know the way there, because he knows where the River of the Sunrise it." Lily look away. "I can't help you. I'm only here so he knows where you are at all times. That's all I'm worth." Lily whispered. She was shaking. I pressed against her to comfort her then set a brisk pace towards the sunrise. "If the River is named after the Sunrise, them it must be there." Pressing onwards, I found a good place to stop. "I need to get home before the moon is up. Or my mother is dead." "He's not only going to kill your mother." Lily reminded me. "He's going to wipe out the Roaring Sunrise Tribe. Which means he'll have no access to the River of the Sunrise!" "Is that good?" Lily shrugged. "Well since we're the Tribe of the Sunrise, we're connected to the River. That's why he wants you to get the Mystical Stone from there." I narrowed my eyes. Lily was gullible, so it was easy to get info from her. The Leader must have grabbed her because she would be an easy target to use. "Okay, help me on this. If he wipes out our Tribe, and I haven't retrieved the Stone, then how would he get it?" Lily looked confused. "I would assume he was using you to get it, then he would destroy the Tribe." "Then he breaks his promise." I mewed, my heart starting to think twisted thoughts about the Controllers. "Don't do it, Echo." Lily warned me. I couldn't help it. I wanted to kill the Controllers and free this place of their horror. "I'm not going to bother controlling my feelings." I muttered. "We're going to find that Stone wherever it is, and bring it back to the Leader defiantly." Lily shook her head. "I'll be killed!" "And we'll join StarClan in the stars." I responded. "More than we wanted." "The Controllers can do more than that, Echo." Lily warned me. "They can send you to immortal silence or darkness. We may not end up in StarClan." That caught me. "If we don't end up in StarClan, then where would we go in the end?" "I don't know." "The Mystical Stone can't be in the River of the Sunrise." I mewed, narrowing my eyes. "If it was, it would be too risky. Think about it. What if I don't make it back and he kills our Tribe?" Lily stopped me. "No, I think he's bluffing. He wants you to go to the River of the Sunrise and retrieve the Mystical Stone. He won't kill the Tribe. He'll just send someone else after he gets you." That seemed logical. "Well he'll kill Stormcloud for sure. I can't let him do that. He's already gone into her mind, who knows what else he can do to her." Lily hurried after me. "But we're not twelve moons old yet. No one has taught us where our sacred River is. How are we supposed to find it?" "That's the challenge, Lily. He knows I'm smart enough to figure all this out. He probably knows that we're only seven moons old. This guy knows all, and he knows that we're not old enough to understand all the Tribe things. That's why he's sending us." Lily struggled to catch up with my thinking. "So we're stuck out here." I shook my head. "But he doesn't know how smart we can get with both our minds working. Come on, let's brainstorm." ---- Lily ended up coming with the final idea. "I got it. Our Tribe Leaders go to this River to get their leadership lives. That means Clover Sunrise must have came here to receive her name and leadership. So if we follow their footsteps led by StarClan, we can find the way." I smirked. "That will teach the Leader and the Controllers." "Echo, you shouldn't be so rude. Just because we're on this quest, doesn't mean we can disobey him!" Lily's eyes were worried and haunted. I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, Lily. I can be as rude as I want. He doesn't have much against me." I pointed out. "He has Stormcloud, he has our Tribe." I sighed and lowered my head. "I don't care what he does to them. He'll pay for whatever damage he's caused to our Tribe. Think about it. He has three kittens sacrificed in front of him every moon. He has the whole Tribe travel to him just to see them die. How low can he go?" Lily ushered me away. "You haven't changed a bit, Echo. Just watch your tongue, wait until we finish everything we have to do before you start ruining your future." I don't care what he does, I really don't. Lily can worry all she wants about him. The Leader doesn't have anything against me. We rested near a waterfall, which was starting to mark the way towards the River. But I feared I would never reach it in time... ''Chapter Three Lily looked extremely worried now. "It's been five days, Echo, and we're going nowhere with this." I shrugged and mewed. "We have to keep trying, Lily." My friend sighed. "But what if we never make it back in time? I'll never be able to face him like this. He'll have my heart!" I desperately told her to be quiet. "Let's just keep moving before it gets too late." She strode after me, still fretting. "I hate this life." I muttered. "There's nothing but fear and despair in our miserable lives. If he thinks he can make us keep going on like this, he's wrong." I kept cursing and muttering until Lily wrapped her fluffy tail around my mouth to keep me quiet. And even then I bit down hard on her tail, making her squeal in pain. She let go of me and I kept muttering. "He's going to pay." "Echo," she whispered, "I worry about you." "Gee thanks." I mewed sarcastically. "I worry about me too sometimes." Lily rolled her eyes. "No, I worry that you're never going to survive after this. He already hates you for your insults. He's never going to forgive you for this." "Let him come." I mewed, unworried. Lily looked nervous, and she sighed. "Let's just keep going." She muttered, dragging me off, but I was already shouting defiant curses behind us. "I just got a message from the Leader." She trembled. "We have to seek out the Tribe of the Mountains. He's ordering us to." Blinking at her, I mewed incredulously. "He literally messaged you just to say that?" Lily glared at me sternly. "Yes, he's leading us the way, or at least this is the route we must take. Come on, at least I know where the tribe of the Mountains live." She led the way with confident steps. I smiled a bit then hurried after her. "If you're so sure..." I mewed, looking around as the trees began to fade away and was replaced with an icy terrain. "Did you just get us here in a matter of seconds?" Lily laughed. "You don't know how to warp time and space?" Then I remembered the lessons Stormcloud tried to teach me after my lessons with Littler. "Um... I never payed attention in class." "Littler taught us a lot of useful things," Lily scolded, "You should have payed more attention to him. At least you know how to shroud yourself, that's important." I only laughed. "Ha, important. The Leader saw right through me when I tried to cover my thoughts and my heart. As if." "That's because you don't know the basics of doing so!" I glanced at her slyly. "If you can warp time, then you can slow down the moon so we can get back in time!" Lily looked astonished. "That's breaking the rules! Plus, Littler wasn't allowed to teach us anything like that." Lily pointed out. "The Controllers forbid any of us from knowing that. If we do, they'll kill us." "Funny how they care so much." "Echo!" I sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll stop now." "Thank you." Lily padded onwards, the icy terrain rippling around her. She was sweating by the time the mountains began to show. "The day's almost over." She panted. "What?" I mewed, astonished. "When you said warp time and space, didn't you get us there faster?" She shook her head. "No, that's another level of magic, and we're not allowed to know that stuff. I just accelerated the time and made it easier for us to get there. Plus, now we don't have such sore pads as we would if we trekked across all that." Lily smirked a bit, then regained her composure. "Cool, eh?" "Pretty cool." I admitted. "Now I wish I actually learned all this stuff from Littler." Lily laughed. "I would teach you, but the Leader would kill me." Lily confessed. "You're supposed to be free of all kinds of magic. He's only okay with you being able to cloud your thoughts because you taught yourself." "Hm... so if I taught myself how to warp time and space, he would be okay with it?" Lily shrugged. "I guess so." I snorted. "Time to experiment." Lily stopped me. "Not right now! If you mess up, you could easily end the moon for us and we'll be too late!" The panic in her voice stopped me. "What?" "Anything can happen when you're dealing with skill, Echo. Watch what you're doing and concentrate." I didn't budge. Lily stared at me weirdly. "Well?" "First of all," I started, "I'm doing you a favor by not doing so. I'm pretty sure you said teaching me would be disobeying the rules." Lily's mouth fell open and she covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry, StarClan, I forgot. Forgive me!" She wailed, kneeling down. I blinked and left her to plead for mercy as I searched for a good place to sleep. "Do you think we would fit in this cave?" I called out to Lily, who was still crying out. She stopped for a moment to nod, then continued to shriek and plead. "Lily!" I shouted. She froze. "Will you please shut up and come help me?" "Don't be rude, Echo." She mewed tiredly as she stumbled over to me. "You've already sunk too low for the Leader's taste, he's telling me to stop you." "Oh did he?" Lily only glared at me, as if daring me to try my luck. I was tempted to just charge forward and accept my challenge, but Lily was warning me. I stared around us, the snow still glistening in the fading sun. The mountains were soaring up to StarClan, and cats were milling about. "Let's go test our luck by asking them." I mewed, flicking my tail at them. "Hey!" I shouted, trying to catch their attention. One cat glanced over at me. "Sh... The Leader may be listening in on us." She warned me, beckoning for us to enter the cave. Lily shoved me in before staying outside, as if receiving some new order. "What's wrong with her?" The she-cat asked me. "The Leader is probably telling her something." I muttered. "Not like I care, I'm probably already doomed, so I might as well curse at him all I want." The she-cat ushered me inside. "Shush, young cat, my name is Flicker, and I suggest that you be quiet or the Leader will have your tail." "I'm already being forced to get the Mystical Stone as a punishment." I pointed out. "So he's already mad at me, and I personally don't care what he does to me." Lily padded inside, her face grim. "The Leader wants us out of the Tribe cave now." She glanced at Flicker. "You too." Flicker looked a bit surprised, but she padded out with us. Suddenly rain started to pour down, and Flicker shuddered. "StarClan is angry..." Lightning flashed, and it struck the cave, sending it alight. "No!" Flicker shrieked. "That's my Tribe! My family is in there..." She whispered. "I would have rather died then be here watching them burn.." She looked ready to throw herself into the flames. Lily held her back. "The Leader wants you alive." She mewed quietly. "It's better that you stay quiet and on his good side." Flicker bit her lip and nodded tersely. "If he says so." "Echo." Lily ordered. "You have to journey on yourself, go find a cat named Shadow, he will lead you to your destiny." I nodded and bid them farewell and good luck. Flicker looked terrified, but she left Lily lead her back towards the Leader's cave. I saw their view ripple, and they were gone. Standing stiffly, I padded towards the peak of the mountains, knowing a week was over now. I only had three weeks left. Chapter Four Shadow wasn't hard to find. He was standing on the peak of the mountain, staring at the land beyond. "Hello, are you Echo?" I nodded. "Are you Shadow?" He smirked. "Yes I am, are you sent here by the 'Leader'?" I laughed and nodded. He stared at me with a sly smile. "Why do you laugh?" "I've never heard anyone else insult the Leader before." "Except yourself." Shadow pointed out. I laughed again and mewed. "You're a lot like me." Shadow only winked and led the way down. "If you're not like me, then you wouldn't be here right now." Shadow mewed. "There's no Tribes past this mountain, and anyone sent here - to the end of the Controllers' territory - would have probably disobeyed the Leader. Like you, like me." I looked at him curiously. "What did you do to anger him?" "Everything." Shadow mewed, his voice bitter. "My whole family was practically against him. My birth was against his rules, so he naturally hated me. My mother was ordered to treat me harshly, or else he would kill my brother. She agreed, only for the sake of my brother, who was born legally. She beat me, she hurt me, so naturally, I hated the Leader too." I couldn't believe what I just heard. "That's horrible..." "Don't even try to sympathize me," Shadow muttered, "I don't care anymore. He can kill my family for all I care, I'm here as a punishment, and he'll never let me go. I'm suffering eternal pain." Blinking, I opened my mouth to say something, but Shadow mewed briskly. "What did you do to get here, Echo?" His yellow gaze bore into mine. "I talked rudely about him, and practically disobeyed all the talking laws. There's no way I could have gotten past him." I mewed snidely. Shadow snorted. "Maybe you'll get the same punishment as me, to guide the misguided ones along to help them find what they need. So far, I've failed to help everyone of them." He mewed grimly. "I may fail to help you." But I waved him off. "What Tribe did you come from?" Shadow looked grave. "The Tribe of the Sunset." Groaning inwardly, I mewed. "Do you know where I can find the Mystical Stone?" Shadow froze with his mouth open. "The Mystical Stone?" I nodded. "Yes, the Mystical Stone. Do you know where it is?" I mewed, sounding out each word slowly. "Did you get that?" Shadow bit his lip. "Now here's the problem..." He muttered. "The Leader sends cats after this 'Stone' all the time, and I've sent cats everywhere, but I can't find it. That only means that it's not possible to retrieve that Stone." I stalked over to him. "Do you think the Leader would lie about his treasures? The Great Leader of all cats?" I was determined to sound sarcastic. Shadow's lips curved into a small smile. "No, of course not." He mewed in his own sarcastic tone. Then more seriously, he mewed. "Okay, I know one spot where I've never gone to before." "Where?" He hesitated. "Walk with me first, Echo." He beckoned towards the forest of shadows and where the tall pine trees stood. The sun was gone now, and the moon began to take its place. The moon meant shadows, and shadows meant peace. The Controllers would be sleeping now. I scooted towards him until we were under the sky. Stars peeked at me from behind trees, and I gazed back at them. "Which one of those stars might be your ancestors?" I mewed. Shadow only shrugged and stayed silent for awhile. Then he sat down. "You must understand that I'm pretty much sending cats to their deaths." Shadow mewed quietly. "Asking me would be suicide." I stared at him. "Then why do you bother?" Shadow lowered his gaze. "Because I want to try. I want to see if I can save one of them. Just one. The Leader says if I can save one cat, I can go free and escape from his grasp." My reckless soul urged me forward. "Did you ever see like your family members sent this way?" His eyes hardened. "Echo, that's not a good question to ask someone like me." Shadow warned. His tail was flicking back and forth, and I knew that he was upset. "Shadow." I looked into his fierce eyes. "Don't you just want to go free?" He nodded. "Then answer my question and help me." His jaw tightened, and he glared at me for two whole seconds. Then he growled. "Yes." I was a bit startled by his sudden answer, but I persisted him. "Who was it?" "My mother." He snarled. "She came by, begging me for help. But I refused. When she asked why, I yelled at her. She didn't understand how she hurt me all those years ago, how useless it was to beg for my help. I was done with her, and she should be done with me." His eyes were cold and haunted. "I'll never forgive her for caring more about my brother than me. She still doesn't understand..." "Where is she now?" I mewed softly. "She failed didn't she?" Shadow laughed bitterly. "Of course she failed, I didn't even try to help her, and she died, at the Leader's paws. He came all this way just to slaughter her in front of me. Did I care? No, not at all." He growled. "She's no mother of mine." He seemed a bit sad now that he shared his story. "So? Why do you care?" He was a bit edgy now, and his eyes were accusing. "How would information about me and my family help you?" "Because I want to get to know you." I mewed. "I mean, I could be the key to your success and freedom, Shadow." The black tom sighed. "I answered your question now." I smirked. "Yes you have, but I still need another answer. Where can I find the Mystical Stone?" That set him off a bit. He lifted his head, looking a bit worried. His eyes tracked down a single star, and he muttered softly to himself. "Do you really want to know, Echo?" He mewed, staring right at me now. I nodded, determined to succeed for my sake, for his sake, and for my Tribe's sake. "You can find it in the Flaming Waterfalls, the most dangerous place on the Controllers' territory." Chapter Five "The what?" I stared at him quite astonished. "The Flaming Waterfalls, Echo. I said you have to find the Flaming Waterfalls." Shadow repeated, his eyes serious. I was worried. "I know where the Waterfall is, but the ''Flaming one? That one is dangerous and I could easily be killed!" Shadow nodded grimly. "You said you had another companion before you met the Tribe of the Mountains, correct?" I nodded. "Who was she?" "Lily. She was my best friend, but the Leader now has control of her mind, and he speaks to me through her when we were on the journey. After a thunderstorm, that ended quickly, killed the whole Tribe - except Flicker -, Lily was told to leave me." I mewed. Shadow sighed. "Controllers... They killed the Tribe of the Mountains?" I nodded tersely. "Why were you there?" He questioned. I looked down. "Lily told me that the Leader wanted me to go to the Tribe of the Mountains to search for the location of the River of the Sunrise. That's where we first suspected the Mystical Stone would be." "And did you search that place?" Shadow inquired. "No." Shadow grinded his teeth. "Then we should search there first. If the Stone is there, then we do not need to risk our lives in a dangerous place like th Flaming Waterfalls." That seemed like a good idea to me. "We?" I mewed suddenly, staring at Shadow. "Don't you have to stay here to guide others?" Shadow laughed, his eyes filled with amusement. "In a time like this? You're my only hope at freedom, Echo. I can't count on anyone little cat to free me, you're feisty, and I know if I help you, you'll make it out." Shadow mewed earnestly. "Okay, you can help." I mewed, a smile lingering on my face. "It's nice to have company." "I haven't had a lot of company since the Leader issues this punishment on me. You know, even if you get this Mystical Stone, it isn't guarentee that you'll be free and safe from harm." Shadow pointed out. "I did what he asked me to do, and I'm still stuck here." I looked at him curiously, "What did he ask you to do?" He swallowed grimly. "I was asked to climb up the mountain fifty times before the day was over." He flexed his claws like he was lifting himself up the rocky mountain for the fiftieth time. "That's extreme..." I muttered. "I'm kind of glad that I don't have to do that." Shadow smirked. "Make's me seem so strong now, right? Well I didn't save my Tribe like I wanted to. He wiped them out." "That's the reason why I want to get the Mystical Stone so badly. Even if I still get punished, at least my Tribe and my mother will live." I mewed softly. Shadow looked me over. "You're kind and caring aren't you? The Leader only wipes out a Tribe when someone from there fails. So many Tribes are dead, but the Leader can easily make a new population that will fit in that area. When you saw him demolish the Tribe of the Mountains, someone from there must have failed." Shadow mewed softly. "That makes me want to kill him even more." I snarled. "He's nothing but a bad-mouthed liar. He's a foul monster and he should just die!" I spat. "Careful." Shadow cautioned. "You know how sensitive he is about curse words." He warned. I bared my teeth in a snarl. "If he can hear me, then let him listen! Let him come to me and fight!" I yowled. "I don't care what he does, I want him dead." Shadow guided me away, "You're a feisty she-cat, Echo. I used to be just like you." I glanced back at him and mewed, "And what made you change?"